Speaking on a Giant Bomb podcast, Jeff Grubb explored how Dreadwolf’s constant delays are also impacting the next Mass Effect game.
Speaking on a Giant Bomb podcast, Jeff Grubb explored how Dreadwolf’s constant delays are also impacting the next Mass Effect game.
They just laid off 50 people. We are not getting another ME game - not one made by BioWare, at any rate.
I’m willing to bet a cool $100 we’re getting a Bioware ME in the coming 5 years but I’ll concede it’s far more likely to be Andromeda “quality” than ME2.
I don’t think BioWare will be around in 5 years, honestly.
If you argue BioWare is already dead after some big names leaving and thus doesn’t really exist anymore then sure. Like a Ship of Theseus line of thinking that too much has changed already. I could accept that.
But if you honestly think EA will kill the brand of in 5 years time I think you’re delusional. Sure they haven’t delivered in some time but their legacy still gets games both hyped and sold. ME Legendary edition sold very well and SWTOR has been very profitable as well.
Have you looked at the list of studios - big name ones, like Visceral - that EA has shut down in the past? EA absolutely will close BioWare down if they decide they aren’t profitable enough anymore. Look at how many of BioWare’s substudios they’ve already shut down (BioWare Montreal made the Citadel DLC. Then they made Anthem and POOF, now they’re gone), and all the layoffs they just announced at BioWare Austin and how they’re shifting SWTOR to a completely different, outside studio.
Visceral didn’t have even 10% of the name recognition BioWare has. As for the substudios that happens all the time when expansion plans fail due to poor releases, it’s extreme to think that spells the imminent death of BioWare. But sure, EA has that kind of track record. Westwood was a huge name way back when and they got killed. Though they didn’t manage like BioWare to get known for multiple things. They really only had Command & Conquer which still “lives on” in a Frankenstein’s Monster kind of sense.
They also killed off the studio that originally created the Sims. BioWare isn’t safe.
It’s be so great if they all formed a new studio and just started a new franchise as the spiritual successor. After the disaster of Andromeda and the middle of the road game that inquisition was compared to its predecessors, I don’t have much hope about the fantastic writing of previous games coming back.
Most of them have scattered to studios and have games coming out, so it’s not likely they’ll ever be able to get the old BioWare group back together.
The studio that David Gaider, one of the OG BioWare writers, is at now just put out a game, “Stray Gods.”